HOPES of Cheshire being declared foot and mouth free have been cruelly dashed.

There have been outbreaks of the cattle plague on three farms and another 24 farms in Cheshire and Wirral have been placed under surveillance.

New restrictions have been imposed around the county after a milk tanker visited Settle, an infected area in Yorkshire, before going on to two dozen farms around Cheshire.

Some of the areas that the roaming milk tanker descended on were Puddington, Ledsham, Neston, Saighton and Christleton.

These farms have been issued with D-notices which means they are under veterinary surveillance until they are in the clear.

The first of the three new outbreaks of the disease was confirmed last Friday at a farm in Crowley near Northwich, since then there has been another outbreak in the same village and one in High Legh which is a few miles away.

They are the first outbreaks of foot and mouth in Cheshire since April 10.

A Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF) spokesman said: 'The cases that have been declared near Northwich seem to be related but they weren't visited by the milk tanker.'

The resurgence of the disease has come just when the county was about to be declared foot and mouth free.

Cheshire County Council, which opened 90% of rural rights of way last week, has had to close down the footpaths within 3km of the all of the infected farms.

And now many farmers, who were hoping they would soon be allowed to move their stock, have again been placed under heavy restrictions.

One farmer who has been served with a D-notice is Jeffrey Griffiths, of Porters Heath Farm in Saighton. He feels very frustrated about the latest setback.

He said: 'I do think that it was a bit over the top to close us up like this. We are very far away from the confirmed cases and it's not likely at all that the milk tanker would have bought the disease with it.'

Mr Griffiths' farm was visited by the tanker on Wednesday, May 21, by last Friday MAFF had contacted him to tell him the news.

He said: 'I don't think that there is anything to worry about because the tanker came here two days after it was in Settle and because of all the precautionary measures it would have been disinfected before it came here.'

The cattle on his farm are healthy and Mr Griffiths was hoping to be able to sell them at anytime. 'There is nothing wrong with the cattle at all. Hopefully the restrictions will be lifted again in about a month and I shouldn't get too overcrowded before then.